Charter to test-drive boat life for a week?

[Stewie12]

The BVI will give you the calmest waters. Charter with an established company.

[Bargain Bill]

Suggest you start in FL - - no international hassles. Keys and the gulf offer great cruising. I chartered 4 different boats over 4 years to have enough confidence to make a purchase. Look at the PDQ MV34

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by vasiliy

Thanks... so many websites, don't know which one to trust. Is there some kind of way to get in touch with private cat owners who do this? I would think those kind of people usually have better rates and probably better service.

Hi Vasiliy,

The big, well known, all over the world company for sailboat charters is The Moorings. Kind of like the Hertz of boats. In general they are reliable, boats will be in good condition, support and repairs if you have a problem, etc. However they won't be cheap.

As a matter of fact unless you buy an old, small, junker, any thing to do with boats especially a medium to large cat: charter, buy, own, sail, maintain, repair etc is going to cost and arm and a leg and a few fingers and toes from the remaining limbs.

[jim King]

I'd also advise the Caribbean, especially the British Virgin Islands where the sailing conditions are always consistent and the distance between islands short. Like others have said, you get what you pay for and the bigger companies (Sunsail, Moorings) have newer well maintained boats. ASA 104 is not required but a sailing resume will be. Expect to shell out around $9,000 for a week in a 42 - 45' cat. Add to that insurance, fuel, provisioning, park taxes etc. and if you feel you need a captain on board add another $2,000. The secondary companies, BVI yachts and a dozen others will compete against the bigs and offer similar sized boats for about 70 to 50% for older boats.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by vasiliy

Any specific recommendations on where to look/how to find?
Thanks

First time it seems you could charter in Florida for simplicity, or the Bahamas.
The Virgin Islands is nice and an oft used charter destination. Most prefer the BVI's over the USVI's, but either is fine.
The Bahamas/Exumas are fun for kids, a lot of white sand beaches and clear shallow water. Fewer charter places there though and the VI's are loaded with places.

[boatman1]

What Bargain Bill said.
Also, you or your wife can volunteer as crew on delivery trips and log your time, which may help with a charter outfit turning you loose bare-boat.

[sailingchiro]

I did the ASA courses through bareboat then catamaran classes. Then my wife and I chartered a boat in Texas at Windward Seaventure for a week to get the bareboat experience. They have cats but are captain only.
In Stuart Florida, they have live aboard training for couples. That will get you the experience you need to bareboat.

I offered captain chartered cat trips for a week at a time through VRBO.com but had to stop after Geico cancelled all commercial policies. I never had a claim but they lost money due to hurricane Sally.

BVI trip is very expensive due to airfare and charter cost. I recommend BVI with another couple to share expenses. Especially if you can find a couple that has done it before.

[jmschmidt]

Very good advice here but before you can charter without having a licensed and insured captain on board you will need training and experience, experience and more experience.

Check out the ASA and other training programs for live experience on real boats. Even then to charter bare-boat you will need a check ride by the charter company when you go to pick up the boat. I would go with the Moorings since once your are excepted as a "Moorings captain" your can pretty much charter their boats at any of their various venues. I had 40 years of sailing, sail boat racing and sail and power boat ownership but they still gave me a check ride for my first charter.

[Steve_C]

If you have no prior experience or no sailing resume then check out a crewed charter. You can do as much of the sailing as you want and also learn as go. Great for someone who doesn't have any experience until you do. Also lets you focus on the boat and the experience without the hassle of stocking the provisions and dealing with learning where to go and where to anchor, etc.....

Check out Festiva https://www.festivasailingvacations.com/

I would highly recommend you avoid holidays as the price is MUCH higher no matter where you go or if you do bareboat or crewed. Shop the times and you could save a bundle.

I also would recommend the Bahamas or the BVIs.

[JasonS]

We are now full time cruisers on our 40 foot Manta and have owned our boat for the last 8 years. We used to do some chartering, but insurance restrictions have made that impossible to continue.

I have a slightly different recommendation. Use this trip to have your family complete ASA 101, 102, 104, and 114. Stay in South Florida (ie Florida Keys) for easier and less expensive travel, and get a private instructor for your family. Plan for minimum of 7 days aboard, but 10-14 would be better. The Keys provide for a nice selection of sailing and anchorages/marinas and will give you some sense of what full time cruisers challenges are.

You can contact water sailing">Blue Water Sailing School in Ft Lauderdale and request private training for your family aboard a catamaran.

You can also search for a captain approved to teach these classes.

Either way, insist on Interviewing the instructor/captain well in advance and make sure they are a good fit with your family. This can be an awesome experience if you have a good match or an end to your family sailing if you have an instructor who doesn’t match your family dynamics.

Also consider a boat similar in size to what you think you will likely both budget for and will meet your cruising desires in the future. Ie, don’t learn on a new 60 foot HH all carbon fiber cat if you are going to likely be in the range of a 20 year old 40 foot cat. And by the way, we wouldn’t give up our 40 for a 60 right now as we appreciate being able to get under the many 65 foot fixed bridges along the east coast, and would prefer to either spend the huge difference in cruising costs between the two sized boats on other things or save more.

Good luck exploring the dream!

[Clivevon]

Originally Posted by vasiliy

Any specific recommendations on where to look/how to find?
Thanks

Try Google....

[CaptJimFrei]

Originally Posted by vasiliy

Any specific recommendations on where to look/how to find?
Thanks

Moorings, Sunsail, Footloose (cheaper, but older boats than the 1st two), Horizon Yacht Charters are just a few. Moorings is the largest worldwide; I've chartered with them about 30 times since 2000. Not cheap, but service is the best. A monohull will be much cheaper than a cat. A cat that can accommodate your family (say 3 cabins) will run about $8k/ week thru Moorings....more if you need a skipper.

BVIs will be easiest sailing, but for a real adventure do a one-way from St Lucia to Grenada.

[MultiCountryDon]

Moorings-YES-EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY
DYC-NO-NOT EVEN FOR A PENNY !!!

[Mithril Bham]

I spent a few years as a charter captain in the BVI. It's a great place to learn. Getting there is a bit expensive. I had great luck with Horizon although their selection isn't great for cats.
All charter yacht brokers have same price. Look for one in a recognized Clearing House. I would suggest charter with captain who cooks. Depends on your budget.
November is a bit early. Would suggest January to May after Christmas Winds. Constant good winds. Safe. Protected waters. Great people.
BVI open now.

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by MultiCountryDon

Moorings-YES-EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY
DYC-NO-NOT EVEN FOR A PENNY !!!

100% Correct!